Culloden Moor Excavation and Geophysical Survey

Date April 2005 - April 2005

Event ID 559529

Category Project

Type Project

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/559529

Survey; excavation NH 741 447 A multi-faceted investigation was undertaken in April 2005 at Culloden battlefield (NH74NW 17.00) as part of the programme of site re-assessment related to the construction of a new visitor centre. The results of this fieldwork will be used to inform the redisplay of the battlefield and the site interpretation presented to visitors. Metal detector survey, geophysical survey and limited excavation were combined to pursue a number of research avenues relating to the location, progress and character of the battle and the role of the landscape.

Metal detector survey was carried out across a wide transect passing roughly E-W through the Field of the English, the reconstructed Leanach enclosure and the area beyond. This resulted in a considerable assemblage of battle-related debris, including around 250 lead balls of various types. This material represents several stages of the battle, including the Government artillery barrage, the Jacobite charge, hand-to-hand fighting on the Government left, and the fighting withdrawal of the Jacobite force.

Geophysical survey was used in an attempt to locate the unmarked graves of the Government troops in the so-called Field of the English. Both magnetometer and resistivity techniques were deployed, with some promising results. In addition to possible prehistoric activity, in the form of a circular feature, a large anomaly may represent a burial pit, especially when viewed in conjunction with the pattern of artefact deposition.

Finally, the hand-excavation of two evaluation trenches across geophysical anomalies, first identified after survey in 2000, was carried out in an effort to locate the buried remains of a building related to the farmstead now represented by Old Leanach Cottage. One of these trenches contained a linear trench, which may relate to the foundation cut for the wall of a building, possibly related to the farmstead.

Report lodged with Highland SMR and NMRS.

Sponsor: NTS.

T Pollard 2005